What could be the biggest major snowstorm the east has seen in years, a major winter storm forecast to rip through the South before slamming the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. FOX Weather Meteorologist analyzes the incoming winter storm that will wallop millions of Americans across a 2,000-mile long storm.
As we inch days closer to the formation of a major snowstorm, the newest forecasts are coming into agreement that the Northeast will feel the effects of the season’s strongest winter weather event.
The region will be the last stop as a powerful storm carves a dangerous 2,000-mile-long path east across the U.S., packing heavy snow and dangerous ice.
Major Northeast cities from New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Boston, are staring down the barrel of what could be the biggest major snowstorm in years, with forecast snow totals exceeding a foot in each city.
Over 200 million Americans across more than 35 states will feel the impacts of the brewing winter storm that is forecast to punish several regions with potentially catastrophic impacts.
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Travel is expected to come to a halt at major airport hubs in the region and spawn dangerous driving conditions on Interstate 95 and I-81.
Though Winter Weather Alerts haven’t yet been officially issued in the Northeast, a massive swath of states in the South from Texas through Maryland are under alert, with the Northeast bound to join the coalition of over 20 states that are bracing for a major winter storm.
After forming in the Southern Plains on Friday, forecast trends predict the major winter storm will track to the north and slam the Northeast corridor that hasn’t seen a winter weather event of this magnitude in years.
It has been 10 years since the last winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on cities including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C., and the prolonged streak may come to an end as this monster storm is set to bring major snow to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast after carving a path across the South.
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The storm is forecast to reach the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Saturday evening, and peak Sunday before coming to an end Monday.
The latest forecast from the FOX Forecast Center increases expected snow totals across this region, so millions from Virginia to New Hampshire will be shoveling driveways and sidewalks when Monday comes around.
Two disturbances coming out of the Desert Southwest and Northern Plains will merge, according to the latest FOX Forecast Center, leading to a stronger area of low pressure that will extend both warmer air and the precipitation shield further north.
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Three days out from the storm’s arrival, there’s still unpredictability as to how the two disturbances will interact, which in turn leaves uncertainty about how much snow the Northeast will see when it arrives.
Though uncertainty remains about how the storm will arrive, the FOX Forecast Center is certain of the timing of the winter storm.
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The first impacts will arrive in Virginia on Saturday afternoon from the west. As the sun rises Sunday morning, snow will be falling from northern Virginia to potentially as far north as Massachusetts, with the storm peaking in intensity through the day Sunday, when snow rates may be as high as 1 inch per hour before winding down.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the biggest snow totals in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast include areas from the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, through northern Virginia and Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area, and up toward the New York Tri-State area.
Although more precipitation will fall across central Virginia, questions remain about whether the snow will change over to sleet and freezing rain.
It is possible that over a foot of snow could fall in cities such as Roanoke, Richmond, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Hartford, Providence and Boston. If this comes to fruition, it could mark the most significant snowstorm in half a decade or more.
The FOX Forecast Center will continue to monitor the evolving threat and provide updates as forecast guidance comes into better agreement.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
